Sunday, January 20, 2008

No boys allowed!

So, I did it... I decided it was time to adventure out on my own for a 'girls only' weekend with my best friend. Leaving wasn't too bad, because Daddy is quite competent (and wonderful), Squeaker had no idea what was in store for him, and Little Man adores his daddy so I was sure they would all be fine. I was a bit sad because this was the first time I had ever left Squeaker. And, as we are getting ready for the airport, LM pulls this one on me, "Mommy, (with tears welling in his eyes, about to overflow) I think I am really gonna miss you when you are gone (sniff sniff.)" Come ON! Now that is just not fair. Who paid you to say that??? Seriously, I am sure they are all fine (including me).

Day 1 Recap

Flew Southwest to Portland, OR (random city of choice due to cheap tix at the last minute). I had the best flight since I didn't have to struggle dragging 2 kids through security, hauling all their 'wonderful and totally necessary' things with me. I had a peaceful flight (which included a layover) on two totally full flights with no problems! I even got to read about half of a book.

Arrived in Portland, met friend at airport, traveled by train to hotel, and slept like I have never slept before. We both thought that I would wake up pretty early, being on East Coast time and all... but nope. Daddy called around 9:30am and we were both sound asleep (He was getting the boys ready for a nap -- holy cow, I slept ALL morning!!!!!). So, after leaving the hotel mid-morning, we headed out in search of sustenance.

Our first destination was Voodoo Doughnut. I had a very very very yummy Butterfinger Doughnut and my friend had a Lemon Chiffon one. We also got an apple fritter to go. After that, we hopped on a bus and headed out in search of fabric and crafty stores. (you know, all the things girls do without their husbands -- okay, maybe we are the only ones). We first came here. Then we traveled a bit further to this store, which might be better than G Street, but I am not sure yet. Here are a couple shots of the store... we may come back on Monday because they are having MLK Day sale! Sale, woo hoo!

After the fabric stores, we headed out for Alberta Street (scroll down for shopping places). Our favorites were Grasshopper and Onda Art Gallery, where my friend found the most awesome children's handmade children's sweater... with owls, yes owls on it! So cute! Anyway, since all we had eaten by that time was doughnuts, we decided to head back to the hotel for the evening wine reception then to dinner. We ate dinner at Mother's Bistro and Bar just a few blocks away from the hotel. Just as you would imagine, it was good home cooking. I ordered chicken and dumplings and my friend ordered pot roast. The bread, oohhhh the bread, was the best part of my meal, however. After dinner, we parted ways... me to bed (it was getting late by east coast standards) and my friend headed to Powell's books.

So, now, at 6am, I have already been up for about an hour and am going to enjoy another hour or so of quiet reading before heading out on more adventures.

3 comments:

You know how our sheets and blankets are pushed off the bed and twisted into knots that I couldn't even tie if I was awake? I draw much criticism for such heinous acts, but I've maintained my innocence all along. So, while you are gone, I'm conducting The Sheet Monster Experiment - we'll see who the real culprit is (this could totally be a reality show).

To ensure unbiased results (and because I'm a big fan of the scientific method), here are the steps I will follow to conduct the experiment:

-Each morning, I'll make the bed to perfection to ensure a good starting point (you have given me extensive bed making lessons, so you can't argue I can't make it to perfection or you've incriminated yourself). -At night, I'll do the same routine I normally do (hop in bed, try to find some non-ad content in my magazine for a few minutes, and work on the expert sudoku puzzle I've been working on for the last 4 months)-I'll get up 2 times at night, since we are normally awakened by the boys a couple times. (Even if a kid isn't crying, I've set 2 alarms and will just get up and go pee or something.)-I'll get out of bed in the morning (without straightening it up at all)-I will visually inspect the bed and post my results-I will get an external, completely unbiased party (Little Man) to comment on whether the bed is messy or not and post those results

I realize that following the scientific method will not in any way shape or form strengthen the results of this experiment with mommy. However, it will be laid out for all to see, and that's good enough for me.